Fire-escape.



M. GRAY.

FIRE ESCAPE. I APPLICATION FILED FEB 11. 1916.

Patented July 18, 1916.

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M, GRAY.

FIRE ESCAPE. v APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1].1916.

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MAX GRAY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Application filed February 11, 1916.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MAX GRAY, citizen of the United States, and resident of borough of the Bronx, city of New York, in the county of Bronx and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvemenets in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a fire escape in the form of an endless conveyer extending from the roof to the street level whereby the occupants of a building may descend to the street level with ease and without interfering with each other.

One of the many features of my device is that, when not in useit is rolled up and properly secured in the structure above the roof of the building and therefore does not mar the appearance of the building.

Another feature of my invention is that suitable means are provided at each floorwhereby a person discovering a fire may immediately release the fire escape by pulling a lever.

Another very important feature of my invention is my speed control whereby the fire escape is adapted to travel at a pr'edetermined speed irrespective of the number of people descending thereon.

Many other features and advantages will be apparent from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar numerals indicate corresponding parts in all the figures and in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the fire escape superstructure on the roof showing some of the speed control mechanism and the fire escape ladder rolled up; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the structure showing the fire escape ladder released; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2 showing the arrangement of pulleys and wire for opening the door 4. and releasing the fire escape ladder; Figp l'is a section on line l1 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a detail of the handle for releasing the ladder, showing the casing around the chain; Fig. 6 is a detail of the mechanism for rewinding the ladder; Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a building having two fire escapes, one of which is shown ready for use; Fig. 9 is a detail of the speed control mechanism; F 1.0 is a section on line 10-10 of Fig. 9 and Fig. 11 is a large scale detail of a portion of the ladder.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 18, 1916.

Serial No. 77,679.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 11, the endless ladder comprising the two endless chains 2 and held together at suitable intervals by the rungs 2 passes over the idlers 12, 17, 18 and 19 which are mounted on shafts journaled in bearings in the vertical sides of the superstructure 1, and over the sprockets 20 mounted on the shaft 21 also journaled in bearings in the sides of the superstructure 1, which is fixed to the roof of the building. The spur gears 22 fixed to shaft 21 mesh with spur gears 23 fixed to the hollow shaft 2 1 which revolves in bearings in the sides of the superstructure 1. The two shafts 25 fitting inside the hollow shaft 24: have two bores 10 parallel to their axes of rotation and in common with the hollo'w shaft 24 adapted to receive ball bearings permitting thereby the two shafts 25 to slide inside of shaft 24 but are caused to rotate with it. (See Figs. 9 and 10.) The collars 26 fit loosely over the shaft 24 but are fixed to the shafts 25 by means of the screws ll which pass through the slots 27 in the hollow shaft 24:. The collars 28 are fixed to the hollow shaft 2 1 while the balls 29 are hingedly fixed to the collars 26 and 28 by means of links as shown, thereby forming two governors. The friction disks 31 are fixed to the ends of the shafts 25 and are adapted to engage with the friction caps 32.

The operation of the device is as follows: The person desiring to descend, preferably places himself in a sitting position on the window sill with his feet toward the outside. is then grasps the nearest rung of the ladder with his hands while he places his feet on a lower rung to keep himself in position. Due to the weight of the person, the ladder will begin to descend. This in turn will cause the rotation of shaft 24 as previously described. As the rate of travel of the ladder is increased, the rate of rotation of the shaft 24 is increased and due to the action of the governors 29 the friction disks 31 are brought to bear against the friction caps 32. As the speed of the ladder increases, the frictional resistance increases as the square of the speed and acts against gravity, the resultant velocity being practically uniform. The ratios of the gears and the relation between the governors and the friction disks can be so arranged that for a given maximum loading, the rate of travel of the ladder will not exceed a given maximum.

Referring to Fig. 1, the ladder is shown wound up on the spool 33 resting on the inclined plane 3 and is held in position by the hinged door 1 of the inclosing superstructure and is locked in position by means of the hooked levers 5 which engage with the catches 42 on the door 4. (See Fig. 4.) The door 4 is formed in shape. to agree wit-h the outline of the cornice of the building. Nhen the door 1 is closed, the rolled up ladder presses against the board 7 which in turn causes the steel spring 6 to flatten and exert pressure against the board 7. The levers 5are kept in position to lock door 1 by means of the springs 16. The wire 8, one end of which is fastened to the side of the inclosing structure 1, passes over the pulleys 11 fixed at the ends of the levers 5 and then down vertically where its end is fastened to the chain 9 inside of the pipe 10 running for the full height of the building. The handle 13 (Fig. 5) is fastened to one of the chain links at convenient points on each floor, while the pipe 10 is provided with slots 14: to permit vertical movement of the handle 13. In case of fire a person on any floor may release the fire escape by pulling the handle 13 downward. This exerts a pull on the chain 9 which is transmitted to the wire 8 which in turn causes the levers 5 to swing about their pivots, thus unlocking the door 4, which assumes the position shown in Fig. 2. Due to the combined action of gravity and the spring 6, the ladder moves down the inclined plane 3, unrolls rapidly and assumes the positions in front of the windows as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. The length of the ladder is such that when unwound its extreme lowest posit-ion will be high enough above the sidewalk not to interfere with pedestrians, but low enough to enable a person to jump down.

The rewinding of the ladder after use is accomplished as follows: The spool 33 (Figs. 6 and 7) preferably made of wood is provided with a projecting hook 36, on its outer surface and slits in its interior to permit the insertion of the flat bar therein. The short cylindrical pieces 3 1 provided with slits to permit the passing through of the flat bar 35 are journaled in bearings in the sides of the superstructure 1 and are held in place by the removable flanges 34 as shown in Fig. 6. The crank arms 37 are fixed to the outer flanges 34:. The flat bar 35 is passed through the slits in the cylindrical pieces 34: and the spool 33. One of the rungs 2 of the ladder is hooked over the projecting hook 36 and then wound around the spool 33 by means of the crank arms 37. As the ladder is wound up to the position shown in Fig. 1, it presses against the board 7 and the spring 6. The door 4: is then closed and locked in place. The flat bar 35 is then removed leaving the spool 33 inside the rolled up ladder which is now held in place by the locked door 4.

It will now be seen that I have provided a fire escape which is normally invisible but readily made available by any occupant of the building by merely pulling a handle. Furthermore the rate of travel of the ladder can be regulated to any maximum irrespective of the number of people descending.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and Wish to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a fire escape, the combination of an endless flexible ladder, means for winding said ladder into a coil, comprising a cylindrical member having an axial opening, means for rotating said cylindrical member, a removable spool having an axial opening, means for engaging a rung of said ladder with said spool, a removable locking member adapted to be inserted into the axial openings in the said cylindrical member and the said spool, whereby the rotation of the cylindrical member will cause rotation of said spool and thereby cause the winding of said ladder into a coil, and means for removing said locking member.

2. In a fire escape, the combination of an endless flexible ladder, means for winding said ladder into a coil, comprising two cylindrical members having slits through and parallel to their centers of rotation, a removable spool having a slit through and parallel to its center of rotation, means for engaging a rung of said ladder with said spool, a flat baradapte'd to be inserted into the slits in the cylindrical members and the re movable spool, whereby the rotation of the cylindrical members will cause rotation of said spool and thereby cause the winding of said ladder into a coil and means for removing said flat bar.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 9th day of February A41). 1916.

MAX GRAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D.- C. 

